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The St. Catharines fire department has confirmed a fire at 14 Rockwood Ave this morning resulted in a death.

Fire chief Dave Wood said he could not release the age, gender or name of the victim as Niagara Regional Police are presently reaching out to next of kin.

However, he did say the first calls to the fire department came in around 7:30 a.m.

"Our crews arrived and could see visible flames and thick, black smoke coming from the building," Wood said. "Our fire fighters entered the building for a search and rescue, because that is always the first priority. They made their way through the building, putting out fires as they went, and eventually found the person in one of the bedrooms."

He said due to the nature of the fire, fire fighters were unable to remove the body from the building at that time.

The fire department, NRP and the Ontario Fire Marshal's office will conduct an investigation, he said.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, Wood said, but he is urging residents of St. Catharines to ensure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes and to have a fire escape plan.